00:00This interview, this conversation is becoming very interesting, sir, because there are so many
00:03highlights of understanding it. It's really pleasant to see you and your sense of humor
00:07and how you're putting things forth. But now we'll go on to a very serious matter,
00:12and that is the Russia-Ukraine war. So what, in your view, would constitute a victory for Russia
00:21in the Russia-Ukraine war? What are the red lines? Because you have, and I quote you,
00:26you have said very clearly that Russia will lay down arms only if Kyiv's troops withdraw from
00:33territory claimed by Russia. Which parts would that be?
00:39You know, it's not about victory, like you have said. The point is that Russia is determined,
00:47and will certainly do so, to protect its interests, protect its people living there,
00:53protect our traditional values, Russian language, and so on. Protection, by the way,
00:59of religion that has been cultivated on these lands for centuries. Yet you know that the Russian
01:05Orthodox Church in Ukraine is almost banned. They seize churches, drive people out of temples,
01:12temples, and so on. It is a problem. And I'm not even mentioning the ban on the Russian language,
01:21and so on. It is all part of a big set of issues.
01:28Let me remind you, we were not the ones to start this war. The West egged Ukraine on and supported the
01:35events, orchestrating a coup d'etat. That was the point that triggered the events in Crimea,
01:46followed by developments in southeastern Ukraine, in Donbas.
01:50They don't even mention it. We've tried to resolve these issues peacefully for eight years,
02:02signed the Minsk agreements, hoping that they could be resolved through peaceful means.
02:08But Western leaders openly admitted later that they never intended to honor those agreements,
02:15signing them merely to allow Ukraine to arm itself and continue fighting against us.
02:21After eight years of relentless violence against our citizens of Donbas,
02:25something the West hasn't uttered a word about, we were forced to recognize these republics first,
02:31and secondly, provide support. Our special military operation isn't the start of a war,
02:41but rather an attempt to end one that the West ignited using Ukrainians' nationalists.
02:46That's what is really happening right now. That's the crux of the problem. We will finish it
02:58when we achieve the goals set at the beginning of the special military operation, when we free
03:03these territories. That's all.
03:05So what is that goal? What is the end game for Vladimir Putin in Ukraine?
03:16I have said that already. Listen, we didn't recognize these self-proclaimed republics for eight years.
03:25Eight years. They declared independence, while we were trying to establish relations between the rest
03:32of Ukraine and those republics. But when we realized this wasn't possible, that they were simply being
03:41destroyed, we had no choice but to recognize them. And not just their existence on part of the territory,
03:48but within administrative boundaries established during Soviet times, then later under independent
03:54Ukraine after its independence, still within those administrative borders.
03:59And right away we told Ukraine, the Ukrainian troops, people don't want to live with you anymore.
04:09They voted in a referendum for independence. Withdraw your troops from there and there won't be any
04:15military actions. No, they chose to fight instead. Now they have pretty much fought themselves into a
04:23corner. All this boils down to one thing. Either we take back these territories by force or eventually
04:30Ukrainian troops withdraw and stop killing people there. Just one last question, Geetha, before we
04:36move to the other one. Just one last question, sir. March 8, 2014, during the annexation of Crimea,
04:44you were addressing the Federation Council and you said, Kyiv is the mother of all Russian cities. What did you mean?
04:53Here I haven't made up anything. Historically, this is how it was said.
05:02Originally, the Russian state was formed from several centers. The first capital, according to history,
05:08was in Novgorod in the northwest. Later, the federal status moved to the city of Veliky Novgorod. And then it moved to Kyiv.
05:22This was ancient Rus. And since then, Kyiv has been known as the mother of all Russian cities.
05:29Later, historical events unfolded in such a way that the ancient Russian state split into two parts.
05:47One part began developing with Moscow as its center, while another part fell under other countries.
05:54For instance, the part with Kyiv, along with some other lands, these parts first formed a state with
06:02Lithuania, subsequently merged with Poland, forming the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Thus, this part of
06:09the ancient Russian state ended up in Poland. And by the 17th century, it sought to return back to Russia.
06:16Right. President, sir, the fact that, you know, you're mentioning the history, and it brings me to
06:27what I did when the conflict was underway. I had traveled to Donetsk. I traveled to Lhansk, Zaporizhia,
06:34Kherson. And most of the people who were there are Russian-speaking. They speak Russian language. They were very
06:40disappointed with Kyiv that it was banned in eastern Ukraine. But they were also a little shocked that
06:47how is Putin doing this to us? We are his people. A lot of women I spoke to were in shock. So what do
06:54you have to say to people in eastern Ukraine who actually have families in Russia, who on a daily
07:01basis move from Ukraine to Russia? So what do you have to say to them?
07:06The answer is quite straightforward. These individuals presumably resided in those parts
07:11of Ukraine, specifically in the areas of the Lugansk and Donetsk region, that remained under the
07:16control of the Kyiv authorities at the time. Meanwhile, that part of the Lugansk or Donetsk
07:21region outside their control was being subjected to intense military action by the Kyiv authorities.
07:27We were consequently forced to extend support to those areas that had declared independence. That is the
07:33first point. Secondly, we provided people with an opportunity to express their will in an open
07:38referendum. Those who believed it was in their interest to join Russia voted accordingly. Those
07:44who did not were free to leave unhindered for other parts of the Ukrainian state. We have never placed any
07:51obstacles in the way of that choice. So what do you make of President Zelenskyy? He was promised NATO,
08:01the European Union promised an EU, nothing really happened. Was NATO ever on the table for Ukraine?
08:09When this gentleman came to power, he declared that he would pursue peace at all costs, using every means
08:16possible, without sparing even his career. But now we see things differently. He follows the same pattern
08:25as his predecessors, putting the interests of a narrow nationalist group, particularly radical
08:31nationalists, ahead of those of the people. Essentially, he is addressing their concerns rather than those of
08:38the nation. This regime's mindset truly resembles a neo-nazi regime, because extreme nationalism and
08:50neo-nazism are almost indistinguishable concepts. Today, undeniably, military action dominates their approach.
09:02However, they haven't achieved much success here either.
09:05I have already said before that what matters most for them is realizing that the best way to resolve
09:12the problems is through peaceful negotiations. And we attempted to negotiate with them back in 2022.
09:25What exactly they plan to do remains to be asked from them directly.
09:29That will be interesting to see what they have to say on that and how this peace process goes forward.
09:40But, sir, you've always said that the eastward expansion of NATO is your real concern.
09:46Now, Ukraine hasn't got this NATO membership as of now. My question to you, sir, is,
09:51is NATO expansion the real threat or just a pretext for what you think is a part of Ukraine which is
10:04probably you want control over? Or you think that injustice is being done, Russian language is being
10:10banned? These were the real issues.
10:12Listen, NATO is another matter altogether. The Russian language, Russian culture, religion,
10:25and even territorial issues. These are very important topics. One subject. NATO is something entirely
10:33different. We don't demand anything exclusive for ourselves here. First of all, there are general
10:43agreements that the security of one state cannot be guaranteed by undermining the security of others.
10:53This idea might seem somewhat obscure, but I'll explain it simply.
10:58Each country, including Ukraine, has the right to choose its own means of defense and ensure its own
11:06safety, correct? Absolutely correct. Do we deny Ukraine this? No. But it's not acceptable if done
11:15at Russia's expense. Ukraine believes it would benefit from joining NATO. And we say, that threatens
11:23our security, let's find a way to secure yours without threatening us. Secondly, we're not asking for
11:34anything unusual or unexpected, nothing falling from the sky. We're just insisting on fulfilling the
11:41promises already made to us. These weren't invented yesterday. They were pledged to Russia
11:53Russia back in the 90s. No expansion eastward. This was stated publicly. Since then, several waves of
12:01expansion took place, culminating with Ukraine being drawn into NATO.
12:11This completely displeases us and poses a serious threat. Let's remember that NATO is a military-political
12:18alliance and Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, establishing NATO, hasn't been repealed.
12:27It's a threat to us. Nobody bothers to take us seriously. Lastly, when Ukraine became independent, few
12:35people recall this. What was the first document ratifying independence? It was the Declaration of State
12:42Sovereignty, independence of Ukraine. That forms the foundation of Ukrainian sovereignty and modern
12:52statehood. And it clearly states that Ukraine is a neutral state.
12:57Well, was that also, was that also the basis for what happened when you decided to annex Crimea? You're
13:10only warm water port, a very important strategic port for Russia. And then Russia was no longer part of G8.
13:18Today, the West claims or says that your actions in the recent past is the reason for, and I quote-unquote,
13:27the isolation of Russia.
13:33We didn't need to seize that important port in Crimea because it was ours already.
13:37Our navy had been stationed there under the agreement with Ukraine, which is a fact.
13:54After the collapse of the Soviet Union, our fleet remained there regardless. The matter isn't about
14:00that. Though it's significant, but that's not what we're talking about here. And we did not annex Crimea,
14:11I want to emphasize this point. We simply came to help people who didn't want their lives or fate
14:18tied to those who staged a coup in Ukraine. They said, hey, nationalist extremists took over in Kyiv.
14:27Did anyone ask us? Okay, we ended up as part of independent Ukraine after the dissolution of the USSR.
14:35So be it. History happened like that. Fine. Okay. Now we'll live it that way. But we believe that we
14:42exist in the democratic state. And if coups happen here with unknown consequences, then we won't accept
14:49that. We don't want to live like that.
14:50There was a threat, not just of pressure, but of outright violence against the Crimeans. Russia
15:01stepped in to help them. How could we do otherwise? If someone believes differently, thinking that Russia
15:09Russia would act differently, they're deeply mistaken. We'll always defend our interests and our people.
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